| Synopsis
| - During a televised talent show, Lois Lane has Superman show off his ability to turn coal into diamonds, and then introduces a new act: Toto the monkey. After Toto shows off his proficiency with numbers, Lois easily befriends the ape when she cleans him up after he's struck by a pie thrown by a comedy routine. Toto's owner then tells Lois to join them at the Cape Rocket Range where Toto is going to be launched into space in a satellite as part of a publicity stunt.
Lois and Superman both show up, and when the rocket doesn't launch, the Man of Steel lends a helping hand. while in space, Toto's satellite passes two meteors, one made of Uranium and the other Kryptonite colliding, their energies bombarding Toto. Upon arriving on Earth, Toto appears alive an well, but suddenly grows to a gigantic size. Renamed Titano by Lois Lane, the creature captures her. When Superman tries to save her, he finds that the creature can fire beams of Kryptonite energy from it's eyes, weakening the hero.
Stuck as Titano's prisoner, Lois can only witness as Titano causes mischief and unintentional destruction of property. Using a lead shield, Superman manages to save Lois Lane, but the hero is still hard pressed over what to do about Titano. Trapping the creature in a cage, it still poses a threat to the Man of Steel due to its Kryptonite vision. Superman soon learns that the creature will try to imitate anything that Lois does, and so the two trick the gigantic ape into putting on a pair of specially made glasses that block its Kryptonite vision. Superman then sends Titano through the time barrier to prehistoric Earth, where the gigantic ape can live a happy life.
- Seeing a falling totem pole while out with Lois Lane as Clark Kent, Superman uses Kent's "meekness" as an excuse to flee the scene so he can change into Superman and stop the falling totem pole from harming anyone. At this time, Superman recalls a time when he once retired his identity of Clark Kent:
He recalls being assigned as Perry White to check out the Famous Bottle Works building, and is left to his own devices on the property. When an unattended chemical experiment explodes, Kent is caught in the blast, which blows away his outer clothing leaving him in his Superman costume. Superman quickly begins trying to figure out a way to explain what happened to Clark Kent when Lois Lane happens upon the scene, and upon noticing the scraps of Clark Kent's outfit, assumes that he had been killed in the explosion.
While comforting Lois, who is in morning due to Clarks "passing", Superman decides to do away with his secret identity all together. Shortly there after, the Man of Steel asks Jimmy Olsen if he needs a roommate, and Jimmy jumps at the chance at living with his idol, Superman. When Superman's current residence becomes public knowledge, he is constantly asked to assist with mundane tasks, and his and Jimmy's home becomes a tourist trap for anyone and everyone who wants to cash in on Superman living in the neighborhood.
After some crooks almost succeed in killing Superman with a chunk of Kryptonite, by hanging it outside his apartments window, Superman realizes that he took his secret identity for granted. Coming up with an idea as to how to bring Clark Kent back to life, he builds a giant bottle and puts himself out at sea dressed up as Clark Kent, to be found by a Navy ship. When "rescued", Clark explains that he was examining the large bottle from the inside when the explosion sent him out at sea. With everyone believing him, Superman resumes his identity as Clark Kent.
- Tommy's classmates are bringing their fathers to class for a presentation, each father wearing a costume they wore for a heroic deed they had done in the past. Tommy's father, feels terrible since he has never done anything heroic in his life. However, as not to disappoint his son, he decides to dress up in a Superman costume, and use his resemblance to the Man of Steel and "expose" himself as the "real" Superman.
This plan ends up getting him into more trouble than he thought, when he stumbles upon a bunch of crooks who are trying to rob a bank with a dynamite wielding robot. Happening upon the location, the real Superman is spotted by the crooks who handcuff him and keep him hostage for snooping on them. Stuck in a situation where he cannot change into Superman, the real Man of Steel secretly uses his powers to make it appear as though Tommy's father is the real Superman by secretly knocking the robot into outer space.
When the crooks decide to use Kent as a hostage, they demand that Superman help them find hidden loot inside the Hall of Planets. There, Kent continues to secretly use his super-powers to make it look as though Tommy's father is able to preform super-feats. However, Tommy's father decides to trick the crooks when they are in the Krypton room of the Hall and explains that one of stuffed creatures has Kryptonite in it's eyes. Convincing them to remove the eyes and put them in the Hall's leaded fuse box, it cuts off the power. This allows Clark Kent to change into Superman, knock Tommy's father out and capture the crooks. When Tommy's father comes around, Superman recovers the loot, and thanks Tommy's dad for his help. Later, Superman appears with Tommy's father to Tommy's class, where the Man of Steel explains how Tommy's father helped save the day, he then awards Tommy's dad with the title "Superman for the Day"
|
| Notes
| - * "When There Was No Clark Kent" is reprinted in Showcase Presents: Superman, Volume 1, Superman: Man of Tomorrow Archives, Volume 2 and Superman #197. This story is presented as an "Untold Tale of Clark Kent".
* "The Make-Believe Superman" is reprinted in Showcase Presents: Superman, Volume 1 and Superman: Man of Tomorrow Archives, Volume 2.
* "Titano the Super-Ape" is reprinted in Showcase Presents: Superman, Volume 1, Superman: Man of Tomorrow Archives, Volume 2, Superman in the Fifties, Superman Annual #2 and Superman #239.
* Superman appeared last in World's Finest Comics #99. He appears next in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #7.
* Titano appears next in Superman #138.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)